Homily of H.E. Mons. Claudio Gatti of February 10, 2008

FIRST LENT SUNDAY (YEAR A)

1st reading: Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 50; 2nd reading: Rom 5:12-19; Gospel: Mt 4:1-11

“Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.

Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground, trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman: “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent: “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die’” “You will not certainly die, “the serpent said to the woman, “for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves” (Gen 2:7-9, 3:1-7).

“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered: “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple, “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me. ”Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.” (Mt 4:1-11).

There are two small expressions which, in a hasty reading, are probably not taken into due consideration, yet they give the key to understand and interpret today's writing and to make a reflection which, illuminated by the word of God, also leads us to of the intentions of change and conversion. The first expression is that of the serpent addressed to our first parents: "You will be like God", and the other is always from the devil, when he says to Christ: "All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me". In these two expressions there is the exact understanding of the meaning and concept of sin. You know the formulas and definitions of sin, but the basic concept, which makes us understand the true essence of sin, is exactly contained in these two expressions. Sin means replacing God with one's own self and claiming to do without Him, claiming to regulate one's life as one wishes, to undermine God and live as if He weren't there. Today the devil has a large following of faithful and sympathizers because there are, in the world, a series of sins due to the fact that men have turned away from God, turned their backs on him. Men feel proud, haughty, independent and autonomous. They are imbued with conceit and, as a result, feel that they can live as they please, regardless of other laws and directions other than their own choices. The devil is a deceiver, but he is also intelligent and you have had proof of his intelligence; he is captious, sneaky, he knows how to forward and insinuate distrust and doubt. He even manages, because he knows it well, to use the word of God for his ends and purposes, but this game, even if played by an intelligent mind, in front of whoever is with God, is a game that shows immediately its instability and weakness. We can and must resist the devil. If there is resistance, there is no revolt against God. Adam and Eve did not resist, what was stirred in them, what ruined even the demons in their time, was awakened. In fact, some fathers say that the angels, and I am also referring to those who later became demons, were put to test by God and the test was an act of acceptance, an act of humility. God flashed before their minds a Man-God, the Son. Everything is always present in God, you know that there is no distinction between past, present and future and in the face of this reality, which from a certain point of view was inferior to their dignity, the proud and haughty spirits rebelled and God punished them. This pride is still present, it cannot fail to be present, and the devil has also manifested it regarding Christ. The devil must have understood, because he was intelligent, that he was facing the One whom the Jewish people awaited as Messiah, liberator and savior, yet, what did he say? He wanted to affirm his superiority: "if you will bow down and worship me...". The devil acts towards us in the same way us, he solicits our pride, our arrogance and presumption and, if we listen to him, we begin the descent that takes us lower and lower, until we are horrified when we manage to become aware of our situation. How do you resist the devil? Christ taught us how. The temptation page you have just read is indeed very expressive. To resist the devil we must feed on the word of God, by using it well and making sure that this word is light, inspiration and comfort in our life; hence we are talking about the importance of knowing the word of God. What next? Then there is the last verse which, in my opinion, can be read in a certain way I will now explain to you. When the devil is cast out, the gospel says that the angels approached him and served him; in the same way when we fight against the devil, when we drive the devil out of our life and don't allow him to enter our soul, we are in the situation of being helped, supported, guided and why not, even served by the angels. This is basically the task of the guardian angel. Speaking of the angels, another expression comes to mind: "The bread of the angels". I think you all know the beautiful hymn “Panis angelicus”, and we wonder: is it the Eucharist? Indeed it is. Why is it called the bread of the angels? You could have reached the answer with what you have already heard and know well. The Eucharist is the real presence of the Man-God, body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. The Eucharist that is given to man as food is a free, free and sovereign gift from God. But is man worthy to receive it? No! Human dignity and greatness, compared to the dignity and greatness of God, is too far below, the one is limited and finite, the other unlimited and infinite. But there is also another thing to add: the angels are superior in dignity and in nature; the angelic nature is superior to human nature and so I make another distinction and specification. By themselves, not even the angels would be worthy to receive the Eucharist but, compared to us, they are more worthy than us; therefore, if we really want to talk about the dignity and importance of receiving the Eucharist, among all creatures, only the angels could have some right, maybe the full right, to receive the Eucharist. Furthermore, no one says it because no one knows it, it is God who makes supernatural experiences and makes them known, such as the fact that the angels receive the Eucharist. Marisa sometimes participated in the Eucharistic celebration made and realized by Jesus, high and eternal priest. We are surprised, we are shocked and say: “It's not possible. Only at the last supper". But who are you to tell Jesus what he can and cannot do? Must he come to you and ask for permission? Indeed, present at these celebrations there is also Our Lady taking the Eucharist. Our Lady receives the Eucharist every Sunday or whenever I celebrate Mass. There is no need for me to give her the particle, she is the Mother of the Eucharist, she is not a priest, therefore, as the Eucharist was given so many times in an invisible way to Marisa before it became visible before everyone, God can do the same thing with Our Lady. Sometimes, I saw the host come out of the pyx and go towards Marisa, and I can testify to it. Man rejects God, takes his place and falls: here is sin. In order not to fall, we need the word of God and the Eucharist. A few days ago I read only the title, already self-explaining, because, unfortunately, I did not have time to read its content: "The word of God cannot be disjointed or separated from the Eucharist". But you have heard this many times. Do you remember those churches where, sometimes during the week, people began not to celebrate the Holy Mass and was replaced by the word of God? This decision met with my disapproval, but it's not mine that matters, but theirs. And today, after years of struggle and suffering, they come to say, presenting it as their conquest, that the word of God and the Eucharist must be inextricably united and that one cannot move independently of the other. But I also tell you that this is the way to fight against the devil, to overcome the devil. Always remember that expression, which may seem puerile, childish, of ten plus infinite, but we need to be united, attached to Christ and what is true for a member of the mystical body, is true for the entire mystical body of the Church. If all the members who were part of the mystical body, when they were in a position to be part of it, had given this clear testimony of welcoming the word and the Eucharist, the mystical body would not have been mutilated and disfigured. Unfortunately, it is so for this reason, and so do accept with humility and simplicity the invitation and the exhortation I am addressing to you. Don't come and tell me: I can't do it, I'm weak, because when one is weak he undergoes a tonic cure, he takes particularly effective and high-calorie foods and regains his strength. Do not complain if you lack spiritual strength, because God has given you, has given us the necessary food and nourishment. Then also to you, as the angel said to Elijah after having refreshed him with the bread and water he had brought, I say: resume your journey and go towards the mountain of God, Mount Sinai. In the same way I say to you: every time you approach the Eucharist, take up the path and go forward because God's grace, love and help will be with each one of you and when you feel weak in the knees, when you feel pain in your heart. or when exhaustion numbs your limbs and muscles, this new life and vitality, nourishment and energy, will again prompt you not only to resume the journey but to resume it with a vital and fast step, because where God is, there is life, grace and love. Praised be Jesus Christ.